Jewellery designer fined £2,000 for selling big cat claws

A company which sold jewellery made from animal claws has been fined over £2,000.

The court heard that police were notified by Westminster Trading Standards that the jewellery was on sale at a concession of Annina Vogel Ltd in the Liberty department store in Regents Street.

A Westminster Borough wildlife crime officer attended the location on 6 March 2014 and seized 11 pieces of jewellery containing 14 big cat claws. The claws were inspected by a DEFRA-appointed wildlife inspector who confirmed that they originated from big cats, namely leopards, jaguars, lynxes, caracals or servals. All these cats are protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), however as they were being sold as ‘tiger claws’, the regulations on the sale of tiger claws applied.

Today, Thursday, 18 June, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Annina Vogel Limited was fined £2,000, having pleaded guilty to the illegal sale of ‘tiger claw’ jewellery. The company was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim’s surcharge of £120.